Top Ten Results For Suzuki Highlight the Unadilla MX National
Brea, CA, August 14, 2023 – The 2023 AMA Pro Motocross Championship kicked off its final stretch with round nine, the Unadilla National in New Berlin, New York. Rain threatened the day and lightning delayed the final moto, but the Suzuki racers battled hard on the long-rutted and legendary Unadilla track.
Race Highlights:
- Twisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance (AMA Pro Motocross)
- 450 Class
- Freddie Noren earned a top-ten overall result after a heroic top-ten second moto effort..
- Kyle Chisholm earned points to hold his position in the overall championship standings..
- 450 Class
- Toyota of Redlands BarX Suzuki (AMA Pro Motocross)
- 450 Class
- Derek Drake earned a top-five overall qualifying position and ran inside the top ten in moto one.
- 250 Class
- Dilan Schwartz brought home a top-ten finish in the first moto and moved up
- Chase Yentzer gained experience at his second pro visit to Unadilla..
- 450 Class
Freddie Noren (47) pulled in his fifth top-ten overall result of 2023 despite receiving a tough elbow injury early in moto one..
Freddie Noren raced his Twisted Tea Suzuki RM-Z450 to his eleventh top-ten moto result of the 2023 motocross season. Noren qualified inside the top ten in the second qualifying session, but a nasty elbow injury from a first-turn crash in moto one turned his efforts heroic to deliver a top-ten moto and overall result. Noren remains firmly in eighth place in the championship points with two rounds remaining.
"The track was super-high speed. I've never hit fourth gear on the Suzuki before, but this weekend I did," said Noren. "In the first moto, I let off a little early coming into the first corner, which probably kept me out of one first-turn crash. Then I tangled with another crashed rider, and I went down. As I was falling, I put my arm out and someone ran straight into it. Once I untangled my bike and got back going I tried to shake my arm out, but that hurt a lot, so I knew it was going to be a challenging moto. My bars were bent as well, but I just had to keep going. I think I passed the finish line on the first lap in 30th place. I gained back to 13th, which was a surprisingly good charge considering I had bent bars and an arm that wouldn't work properly. I was concerned I wasn't going to be able to run the second moto. I'm the type of person who will always try, so I went out on the sight lap. I couldn't fully extend or pull my arm in all the way. I knew it was going to be a challenge with a lot of pain. I had a decent start, passed a few guys, got up to ninth place, and actually rode really well. About halfway through the moto, both arms started going numb. I had to use all of my fingers to pull in the front brake and clutch. Overall, I'm super pumped with the team. They're doing a really good job and the bike's working really well. I'm happy with where I'm at right now, and I really just want to finish off the season strong and go into the playoff rounds healthy."
Kyle Chisholm (11) maintained his position in the championship with two strong rides at Unadilla.
Kyle Chisholm was fast off the gate at Unadilla. First-lap troubles challenged him, but Chisholm fought hard and claimed solid points at the New York round.
"The track was super-fast. I couldn't put it together and ride my best in qualifying. That left me with a poor gate pick for the first moto," explained Chisholm. "In the first moto, I got caught in a little crash in the second turn. About halfway through the moto I finally found my stride. In the second moto, I had a really good start but made a couple of mistakes on the first lap and lost some spots. I ran around eleventh for most of the moto, so I was happy with that."
Derek Drake (53) was blazing fast, qualifying inside the top five..
Derek Drake brought out impressive speed, putting his Suzuki RM-Z450 inside the top five in qualifying. He ran inside the top ten in moto one and pulled down a top-fifteen moto finish. He earned a top-twenty finish on the day and remained inside the top fifteen in championship points in his first year in the 450 class.
"Qualifying was good. I feel like I can ride how I want to with a smoother track," said Drake. "The first moto was okay. I feel like it definitely should have been a top ten, but my arms got super tight in the beginning. I worked through it to end up P12. In the second moto, I didn’t have a good start, then my foot peg got bent and eventually snapped off the bike."
Dilan Schwartz (85) raced his BarX Suzuki to another top-ten moto result at Unadilla..
Toyota of Redlands BarX Suzuki's Dilan Schwartz moved up one spot in the championship points thanks to a brilliant top-ten moto one performance.
"In moto one, I rode really well and finished strong with a P10," told Schwartz. "In the second moto I was riding strong again, but unfortunately had another issue causing a DNF."
Chase Yentzer (361) raced Unadilla for the second time as a professional.
Chase Yentzer looked good through the long ruts on the high-speed Unadilla track. Yentzer gained more race experience as he wraps up his rookie season as a professional.
"Unadilla was super fun as always," said Yentzer. "I have raced this track a good bit in my amateur career, so it was fun to come back! The first qualifier went really well. I was sitting P23 going into the second qualifier. I had a good ride, but I couldn’t get a clean lap. I ended up qualifying 28th overall."
"Freddie Noren hyperextended his elbow and had to ride the whole first moto and second moto hurt. I'm pretty proud of him for toughing it out and making it happen. He finished in tenth place overall for the day," said Twisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance Team Manager Larry Brooks. "Kyle Chisholm, in the first moto, got pushed off the track in the first corner after a pretty good start. He re-entered the track in about 27th position and came up to 18th, so he rode pretty well. The track was difficult to pass on because it was so high speed, and normally a track that's fast is difficult to pass on. In the second moto, Chisholm had another decent start but was passed by a few guys. He finished 15th which gave him a 16th overall. In the points after today, Freddie Noren is in eighth place in the 450 championship and Kyle Chisholm is in sixteenth."
"Unadilla started out great for the Toyota of Redlands BarX Suzuki team," reported Toyota of Redlands BarX Suzuki Team Manager Buddy Antunez. "Derek qualified fifth, and that momentum carried through to the first moto, Derek finished 12th, and then Dilan Schwartz was back in the top ten in the 250 class with a tenth. We struggled with the second motos today. Things happen in racing that are sometimes beyond your control. Toyota of Redlands BarX Suzuki will keep fighting to get our Suzukis up front."
The series now heads to Budds Creek in Mechanicsville, Maryland for the penultimate event of the 11-round motocross series. The Suzuki racers are ready to put in strong laps and earn more points toward both the AMA Pro Motocross Championship and the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship.
Please visit SuzukiCycles.com/Racing/Motocross and HEPMotorsports.com for more team news.
Photos by BrownDogWilson Photography
